Various types of air flush systems have been developed for use by first responders, such as firefighters. One example has been disclosed in previously issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,991 entitled Air Flush System for A Firefighter's Garment, Grilliot et al., issued Nov. 12, 1996 and owned by the assignee hereof. The '991 patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In the system of the '991 patent, air exhaled by the firefighter flows into the individual's protective jacket to flush air trapped between the layers of the firefighter's jacket.
Another example has been disclosed and claimed in US application No. 2006/0096592 A1, Grilliot et al., published May 11, 2006. The '6592 application is owned by the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference.
While known structures are effective for their intended purpose, the intense heat that firefighters are subjected to at times presents an ongoing challenge to provide as much cool, exhaled air as possible for flushing air trapped in the layers of the individual's garments, jacket and/or pants, for example. There is thus a continuing need for systems which can provide cooler air to flush the coats and pants of firefighters.
It would also be desirable if such systems were compatible with existing coats/pants used by firefighters to minimize the cost of department wide adoption of such systems.